It was the end of 2014 and Myles Munroe, a well-known leader in the Kingdom, had just died. As He died in a plane crash, many were stormed with questions on Why God let this happen and an argument broke out in a Leader’s group in WhatsApp. As in every argument, there were two sides, I was on one side and the rest of them were on the other side. Oh Yeah, it was One Vs All.

The Argument Over Death:-

I was saying that it was not God’s will for him to die. He was not too old to die and God doesn’t take his children through a plane crash, was my stand. I believed and declared that he missed it somewhere, not missing in the sense of diving into sin and falling away from God but missing in the sense of falling short of what God has in store for us in Christ. Everyone else where like=”He is a Great Man of God, he can’t miss it. He died because his time had come. We can’t understand God’s ways but death doesn’t come to a child of God without crossing God”. I was disagreeing saying-“No No No…it is not God’s will”. They couldn’t take the explanations I gave and let it sit in their minds because they couldn’t digest a man who walked with God dying outside God’s will.

Fast forward to 2016, I was talking with another Leader in the Kingdom and somehow shared this “Myles Munroe argument” out of the blue. I shared where I stood and what the others I shared. The Leader I was talking to was like-“Oh boy, you are right…We got to meet a close associate of Myles Munroe and we learnt that Myles used to talk about dying young”. There’s the catch. Remember, reading somewhere-“Life and death are in the power of your tongue”. He talked about dying young and it happened. God is not in the picture. God didn’t take him so that He can have him in heaven, He died before his time. “What you speak is what you get”, good or bad, that’s a spiritual principle, a Kingdom law and God won’t override it. If you want to die young, you will die young. If you want to live long, you will live long. I didn’t say “God told me that He died outside God’s will”, I just knew that it was not right and what I knew was stamped as the truth when I got the confirmation.

See I’m not dishonoring Myles Munroe. He has been a Great blessing to the World and He has done an amazing work. I love him and respect him. But the truth I want you to get is that He died before his time, God didn’t plan his death. He could have lived longer and done more. I don’t know how that works but that’s the truth.

The Mystery of My Father’s Death:-

My Father, Justin Prabakaran, died when I was 4 months old. He was a fiery man of God who brought a massive change to Tamil Nadu and beyond. He moved the Church out of traditions and paved the way for a new era. Conducting meetings in Marina beach, Big hotels and even cinema halls was his style. He started off as an Evangelist and then planted a Church in Chennai (Rainbow Church), which grew to 1500-2000 members in 2 years. He was dreaming of 10,00,000 members in 10 years which was in the realm of possibility considering his pace and passion because even Yongghi Cho(Pastor of the Largest Church) didn’t have 1500-2000 in 2 years. A Movement was being birthed and as it was taking off, he died of brain tumor. Everybody was thrown into a massive shock. Those who opposed him thought God judged him, Those who loved couldn’t digest it and were found questioning God.

After my encounter with the Lord, I came across a lot of people who walked with my Father. Some said-“Your Father was so righteous, that’s why God took him”, others said-“People were idolizing your Father, that’s why God took him” and there were others who said-“Your Father was doing more for the Lord, so the devil killed him”.Most people were just confused, “How can a man who loved God so much, did so much for God, die like this? Why did God allow this?”.

First, I knew it, as I know my name, that God didn’t take my Father or kill my Father. Second, I unearthed something that confirmed the knowing I already had and shot down all the ideas people had of my father’s death. Somewhere in his diary, he had written that when he was a kid he played some kind of a game that predicts the future, which said that he would die at 40(My Dad was married before, his first wife died. Then he married my mother. That’s why he was 40 when I was 4 months old). He taught faith and walked in faith yet somewhere in the back of his mind, he had believed the lie that he will die at 40. Days before his death, he was found confessing it. Just because My Father walked close with God, knew so much of the Bible and spoke like a Machine gun doesn’t mean he can’t miss it somewhere. He did, I know it, now you know it too. God didn’t kill him or take him because he was so good; He died because he believed he would die at 40. “What you believe is what you get”– a spiritual principle, a Kingdom law.

The Theology of Death:-

Someone dies, the funeral service starts, one sings a song, one recites a poem, with all this junk going you will find people saying “Oh God wanted that guy in heaven” or “God takes the righteous”. Wo Wo Wo C’mon, shut your garbage mouth. The Guy who died is 28 years old, he has left back a young wife and a little child. Do you really think God took that guy? Is God so cruel? Nah Nah Nah…God didn’t take that guy. God didn’t kill your husband. God didn’t take your child. God didn’t kidnap your Momma or Dadda to heaven.God is not bored and lonely in heaven that He took your loved one to heaven so that He will have someone to play with. God is a Good God and it is the devil who comes to steal, kill and destroy. What happened to Myles Munroe? What happened to my Father? God didn’t take them. If God was the one doing it, He would have let them live because they were doing His job and expanding His Kingdom. You need to make some changes in your theology of death. You need to stop putting the blame on God.

Men and Women of God, Giants of Faith have died young and have had horrible ends but someone’s story doesn’t become the truth.The Church has built it’s theology of death over experiences, over what we saw happen to people we loved and people who walked with God, then took a few verses out of nowhere and established a terrible theology that gives a distorted view of God. Are you shifting your thinking? Are you getting this? We need to send back the lies the devil has planted in the Church.

Jesus is the only model for Christian living, not that Man of God who died of cancer or this Prayer Warrior who is bedridden.Storms couldn’t kill Jesus, Demons couldn’t kill Jesus, and Humans couldn’t kill Jesus. Jesus was untouchable. When people tried to throw Him off a cliff, He just walked through them supernaturally. Jesus died because He wanted to die, no one could kill Him. He chose to be arrested and chose to go the cross. Even when He was being arrested, He declared that 72000 Angels will show up to rescue Him, if He called for help. He chose death for us. Death didn’t choose him, Death didn’t surprise him.That’s how you must live. Like Jesus, untouchable. You die when you want to die not when death knocks at your door. You must die by choice not by surprise.

Anyone who says he is a Christian should live as Christ did. 1 John 2:6(TLB)

I lay down my life that I may have it back again. No one can kill me without my consent—I lay down my life voluntarily. John 10:17, 18(TLB)

When they heard this, the people in the synagogue were furious. Jumping up, they mobbed him and forced him to the edge of the hill on which the town was built. They intended to push him over the cliff, but he passed right through the crowd and went on his way. Luke 4:28-30(NLT)

Let’s go to the man who comes next in line to Jesus Christ, Paul the Apostle. We all know that Paul was killed but most people don’t see Paul’s life clearly. There was a time in his life, when he was choosing whether to live or die, to live and serve people or die to be with Christ in heaven. Who was making the choice? God? Devil? Nah Nah Nah…Paul himself.There was another instance where some people hit him so hard and threw him out thinking he was dead. But Paul woke up and went back to work. He didn’t die, He didn’t go the hospital, He didn’t go crying to his Momma.Like Paul, you must be choosing when to die.

I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith. Philippians 1:23-25(NIV)– Watch these verses carefully. How many “I”- I’m torn, I desire, I will remain in the body, I will continue to live…Where is –“If it is the will of God, I will live brother”??? Where is the devil? It’s just Paul making the decision- Should I live or die? Okay I will live. God is not up there saying-“You die now…Hey you die tomorrow night..Bham bham….”.

Then Why do people die young or in a tragic way? The devil killed them or They let the devil kill them or They chose death with their mouth and faith or They got stuck in the effects of the fallen world. If you think, how can the devil kill a believer or a giant of the faith, ask Paul. Because Paul said the devil stopped him from going somewhere. If the devil can stop Paul, he can kill people, if they let him.

Jesus is the exact representation of God. What is God like? Like Jesus. To know the ways of God, you must study the life of Jesus. The reason we have a faulty belief over death is because we have ignored Jesus. If you had studied Jesus properly, you won’t question God or blame God when someone you love dies. Jesus raised the dead and also commanded his followers to do the same. Jesus didn’t stamp someone’s death with “God took him” or “God needed her in heaven”, He raised the dead.

A Widow’s son had died. Jesus didn’t read a poem to her or lie to her saying “God rescued your boy from this horrible world and took him to heaven”. Jesus had compassion on her and raised her son from the dead.That’s who God is. God is not on a killing spree, He is on a dead-raising spree. Jesus’s friend Lazarus died and Jesus missed the funeral service. Jesus showed up late and visited the tomb. He didn’t stand there and say “Lazarus was a righteous man, a very good man. That’s why God took him. Lazarus’s death is precious in God’s eyes”, He roared “Lazarus, come out”.Chew on that. That’s Jesus, the Xerox copy of God. Jesus knew the Scriptures well, then why didn’t he just quote the popular death verses and leave people dead– “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints”. Psalm 116:15 [or] “Good people pass away; the godly often die before their time. But no one seems to care or wonder why. No one seems to understand that God is protecting them from the evil to come. For those who follow godly paths will rest in peace when they die”. Isaiah 57:1,2.Jesus raising the dead shows us three things:- 1. God is not killing people. 2. People can die before their time, outside God’s will. 3. Jesus can raise the dead.

According to popular belief, Lazarus died because his time had come but Jesus raised him from the dead declaring that the popular belief is false. Jesus is the Will of God in action and therefore the Will of God is for people to live life to the fullest.

How and When should a Christian die? :-

A Christian should not die young or before his/her time. A Christian should not die of sickness or accident or any other horrible way out there.Some of you may be thinking, then how can someone die? Ask Uncle Enoch. Ask Grandpa Moses. Moses was strong and healthy at 120. He just gave up his spirit and God buried him. Enoch just disappeared from earth and entered heaven. Those are good ways to die, right. And they are biblical. What you speak is what you get. What you believe is what you get.

What are you speaking? Dying young? How do you see yourself decades away? Old and sick in bed (or) Healthy and walking around? What are you believing God for? A Long, blessed, healthy and fruitful life? Will you be able to say in the end “I have finished my race”?

With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation. Psalm 91:16(NIV)

Whoever respects the Lord will have a long life. But an evil person will have his life cut short. Proverbs 10:27(ICB)

Those are Old testament promises you say, Sorry I don’t know 😛 ..

Honor your father and mother. This is the first of God’s Ten Commandments that ends with a promise. And this is the promise: that if you honor your father and mother, yours will be a long life, full of blessing. Ephesians 6:2, 3(TLB)

“Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise—“so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth”. Ephesians 6:2, 3(NIV)

And these are New Testament my brotha, my sista. If the command to honor our parents applies now, then the promise of long life that follows the command also applies to us now. More than that, Don’t we have a better covenant with better promises???…

God has promised long life to all His children. If you hold on to His promise and stick to His ways, you will be blessed with long life, not just long life but life that’s long and healthy and fruitful. You would have heard people-“Brother, that person died and moved into a better life. God rescued them from this life of trouble and took them to heaven”. Oh How I would love to push a shotgun down the throat of people who talk like this, just joking 😛 . If we are better off dead, then why don’t we all die and pass into the sweet by by and live with Jesus in the clouds.C’mon, Jesus left us here on a mission. We have got work to do. We have got nations to conquer and people to rescue. God would rather have you here on earth doing His work and expanding His Kingdom, than be with Him in heaven. Chew on that for a moment. God doesn’t have to kill you or You don’t have to die to be with God, God is already with you. God is with you, in you and in union with you. God is very close to you now, you are just not aware of it.

God has a purpose for your life. You have an assignment to finish and a mission to accomplish. Your life is not just about you and your family; it’s about you and the people who have to be touched by you. You are not welcome in heaven until you finish your race and pass your baton. Know your assignment, understand your call, Get it done, watch what the next generations are doing and then when you have lived long, kiss your loved ones goodbye and give up your spirit. Booom….That’s how you must go. If you want to go early, I want to see you disappear like Uncle Enoch not like Uncle Bob who died over damaged kidneys.

Myles Munroe said-“The Greatest tragedy in life is not death but a life without purpose”. I would say it like this-“Greatest tragedy in life is meeting death before fulfilling your purpose and enjoying long life”. Let us live and do the work of the Lord, Let us reign over sicknesses and troubles, Let us enjoy long life and when we are satisfied, let’s booom away from this world to the other. As Romans 5:17 says “those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ”, let us reign in life and not let the issues of this life reign over us. Did this post mess up your beliefs? Was it mind bending or Did you know the truth before reading? Hope this post blessed you…Looking forward to hear from you..